Sean Parker Institute Faculty Set Safety Standards for Laryngoscopy in the COVID-19 Era

Laryngoscopy is the cornerstone examination for laryngeal complaints including hoarseness, difficulty breathing, cough, and difficulty swallowing. However, it also has the potential to transmit infection to examining physicians. Sean Parker Institute faculty Lucian Sulica, MD and Anaïs Rameau, MD, in conjunction with faculty from University of California-San Francisco and New York University, set forth principles for safe patient examination in a paper fast-tracked for publication by Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the flagship journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. These include the assumption of universal precautions - assuming anyone can be a carrier, proper protective equipment in the knowledge that laryngoscopy has the potential to be an aerosolizing procedure, expanded laryngoscope disinfection and room sanitization. Although the paper was written in advance of the rise in cases in New York, recommendations have held up as physicans resume practice once the crisis has passed.